This is an 1817 first edition of An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce by Captain James Riley, published by the author in Hartford. Includes multiple copperplate engravings, Arabic & English vocabulary section, and detailed accounts of shipwreck, enslavement, and travel across the Sahara. Early owner inscription dated 1818 inside front page.

Details:

• Title: An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce

• Author: James Riley

• Publication: Hartford, Published by the Author, 1817

• Edition: True First Edition

• Illustrations: Copperplate engravings present

• Binding: Original leather

• Pages: Complete

• Provenance: 1818 handwritten inscription

• Subject: Shipwreck, captivity, Sahara travel, early Americana

• Map: Folding map not present, common for this edition

Condition:

• Leather cover worn with scuffs and edge wear

• Spine cracked but attached

• Pages aged with foxing and staining

• Engravings intact

• Pages 67–70 pulled slightly from the spine at the top edge but still firmly attached

• Typical condition for a 200+ year‑old volume